"He reeked of alcohol," recalls Bennett. "He was belligerent and I was uncomfortable."

As the plane descended to land in Atlanta, Bennett said her son started crying due to the pressure change. According to court documents, Bennett alleges Hundley leaned over and said, "Shut that [N-word] baby up!" before slapping the child near the boy's eye. Bennett said the slap caused her son to bleed and cry even harder.

"[Joe] Hundley's comments were racist and hateful," said Bennett in a statment released by the family. "We have numerous questions about how a passenger could get so violently out of control as to assault a toddler."